All Sand Will Turn to Glass
by 7Crystal7Emerald7
Summary: What would become of Gaara if he had a friend to hug at the age of six? What would happen when they were pulled apart only to come back together? Would it be like light and dark, Yin and Yang? Maybe all of his sand and hatred, would turn into the calm smoothness of glass, and he will see the love he carries within him. Gaara/OC *rating will change*
1. Part 1: Chapter 1: Caution

**^_^ I don't own Naruto. If I did, several select characters would be dead from my awesome hugs of doom. -End disclaimer-**

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_**One night was all it took to break open the scars she had been healing for so long. It only took one night to break him.**_

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The rumor that the Fourth Kazekage's youngest beast-like son was tamed spread through Suna like wildfire. It was the usual hot day that permeated through all the seasons, no matter what. The citizens were used to such heat though as they hurried through the markets into their stucco homes to hurriedly take off their head wraps, and cool off.

More than even the heat Kaida was used to the stares, and snide whispers that accompanied her walk towards her home. They were whispers that held little truth, but even half-truths still caused the doubt that burned in her heart. 'Demon tamer' and 'irresponsible little brat' was tossed her way several times before she reached the gate to the Tatsumaru clan house.

She entered the house quietly, trying to desperately cause as little noise as possible. It was too late however to stop herself as she stepped on a kunai that one of her siblings left on the stairs. _Stupid, careless, fat worms_.

"Gonna kill 'em all...", she muttered.

"Kaida! You come here right this instant!"

Dang it, her father heard her. Definitely going to kill them now.

Trodding down the stairs. she paused to toss her satchel along with her barrettes and ribbon onto the end table in the living room. Finally, she was free of that horrible braid that gave her a headache. Shaking her long hair out, she tentatively pushed open the door to her fathers study.

"I hear you've been starting fights during your lunch break again."

Her eyes downcast, Kaida grumbled, "He was a stupid, itchy idiot."

Pushing himself up from his desk, Taigen Tatsumaru approached his youngest daughter. He had been blessed with eight children, but none of them quite matched the mischief that Kaida caused.

"I also heard that you caused quite the ruckus after wandering off today at school." Taigen stated cooly.

Kaida continued to stare at the ground with apparent fascination before her father grasped her small hands. "Speak for your actions!"

"He was lonely. That's what makes him so confused, and angry dad. He's just lonely." She finally raised up her head. "I will not stay away from him, even if you take away my kunais for a whole month."

Taigen looked at his daughter. Rare was the occasion that she shocked him. Usually, she was a selfish, and spoiled brat. Her mother had always been too soft with her he feared, along with the general spark of defiance that ran in all of the Tatsumaru clan. In all of his years, he did not expect to hear his little girl defend another person. It just had to be the Kazekage's child, the one they called a monster.

"Is it true? Did you actually run up to him and hug him? He didn't hurt you?" He had to know. Even if the child was only his daughter's six years, he still had ties that could cripple the Kazekage. They were after all the most powerful clan in Suna.

His daughter laughed at this. "Well if you call it that. I don't even think he knew what a hug was, he was so surprised."

The Tatsumaru clan leader paused to give thought. His daughters observations were probably truth. He after all, had firsthand experience with the Kazekage's emotions or lack thereof. He also knew that he viewed his son as nothing more than an experiment, a test to push the bounds of the sands shinobi.

"I'll let you see him."

Those simple words were all it took for Kaida to be infinitely happy. She had never cared for rules, or regulations forced on her, but winning her fathers approval was a rare event indeed, meant to be celebrated with the loudest of whoops along with a victory dance. Of course, she would have still gone to see him either way.

Before she left her fathers office, she heard her fathers voice behind her, calling her back from cloud nine. "Kaida, you will always be my most troublesome child."

Turning around to face him, she smiled a rueful smile. "I will also be the most exciting."

She took off before her could question her. Perplexed, he stared out the small window that adorned the western wall of his office. It was coated in dust, and had been there for the generations to witness. It was starting to grow thin at the top, the way old glass does, and as he pondered, he realized that his age was also not too far from that pane of glass. He probably needed to get it replaced before it broke. Kami only knows what might happen if he let a sandstorm in.


	2. Chapter 2: Healing

Kaida stood in the playground as other children pushed past her. They headed to the swings and slides, to play with their friends, and enjoy the innocence that came with childhood.

Kaida always considered herself separate from the other children. She was young, but her destiny had been planned out for her from the beginning. Eventually, she would be admitted to the ruthless ninja academy down the road, and if she was good she would be given a private tutor like her older brother. However, she would be nothing more than the family pawn to be used in marriages and political deals. She was the youngest, and the one with the least worth.

Maybe she could become a medic nin. She remembered walking in on her mother, and seeing the blood that covered her hands. They said it was a terminal illness, there was nothing a medic nin in Suna could do. Kaida tried however, she tried with every fiber in her being.

It translated into school too. She would bring a first aid kit to help the kids who got a bit careless in playing. She liked what she did despite the stares and whispers she got. She knew what she was doing was right and that's all that mattered.

Often when she bandaged wounds now it was because of a reason far more sinister than simple cuts and bruises caused from rough housing. Kids would often come running from the direction of the Kazekage's side of Suna in terror. She would have to calm them down before they hyperventilated. She was a medic in training not a psychiatrist!

Eventually she went from annoyed to infuriated very quickly. Who did this monster kid think he was anyways? Hurting people was not nice, even her dad said so. If her dad said it, then it had to be true. After all, when she hit that Hanako kid at school she had been sorely punished. He just didn't take his medicine right was all. You don't swallow itching paste. Stupid boy.

Her vexation drove her to march straight up to the rooftop that the monster kid had last been spotted, and proceed to scream shrilly at the top of her lungs. After running out of breath for four times, a mop of unruly red hair peaked out from the edge of the roof.

"H-hello."

Stopping midway through her fifth holler, she opened her yellow eyes. "You there kid. What's your name?"

The boy looked owlish, as though seeing some other animate being was enough to send him into shock.

That's it. Let the insults fly. "Listen here carrot top, I ain't got all day."

The boy looked at her with curiosity. "Gaara", he murmured.

"You're too quiet to be that kid-monster. Where's your friend kid? Oh wait Gaara, excuse me." Kaida stated bluntly.

The Gaara kid merely widened his eyes and shook his head. His silence started to grate on her nerves.

"Look here Mr. Colorful, I have a great right hook and I'm not afraid to use it."

For once, the person you were threatening didn't look remotely scared. He just looked...sad. His eyes drooped, and was that a stuffed bear she saw perched beside him? Poor kid. Didn't he know he could get beat up for dragging that around?

"Sorry." Kaida spoke gruffly since giving out apologies wasn't really her thing. "You're totally welcome to come down you know. I'm really quite nice." You aimed what hopefully passed as a honest smile his way.

"I've never met a nice person before." Those words shocked her, her smile was now gone. Gaara didn't notice however since he was floating down on what appeared to be a cloud of sand.

"Wow that's awesome!" Kaida exclaimed before she could think. Wait, wasn't sand always in the wounds she had to bandage? Didn't the other kids complain because wounds caused by salty sand stung?

Wasn't that the smell of blood?

"So you are the one who's been hurting everyone."

Gaara looked ashamed for the most part. Kaida couldn't tell if it was because he'd been found out, or because he was feeling guilty.

"They never want to talk to me. I'll always be the monster." He had sat down while talking and drew his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth. He looked so hurt, so broken and confused. Kaida could do nothing but stare.

"Here's their ball back. They left it here last time." He softly rolled a blue striped ball towards her. It stopped at her feet.

Looking between the ball and the boy, she made a decision that was all hers. She had never been one to listen to others anyways.

"Your bear, it has a booboo." She stated.

Gaara looked more like a puppy now; his head was cocked to the side in utter confusion. "What's a 'booboo'?"

"A booboo is a wound, just a small one though." She replied in earnest. She walked closer to him. "Can I see him?"

Still looking shocked (or maybe it was merely the stark black circles surrounding his eyes) he handed the teddy bear to her.

She sat down, and got out her bandages. She never was good with sewing, but it didn't matter. Her bandages were pretty, not those ugly ones, but colorful ones with stars and rainbows. Who wouldn't love them?

She gently wrapped the one with stars around the leg of the bear. It was disturbing, the way the boy just kept watch without blinking. She managed to get the tear wrapped rather snugly, tied, and then cut off the excess. No more stuffing coming out of you little bear!

Smiling proudly, she held up her handiwork. "See look! He's all better! What's his name?"

Gaara tentatively smiled. 'That smile', she thought 'can light up a room.'

"I haven't picked out a name. I have some more at home, so I don't have a special one."

Oh, well that hit her straight in the ego. This kid was obviously spoiled. She never had toys except the occasional ones her brothers and sisters left around the house. Even then, she was harshly scolded for daring to play with them. Rather, she liked her collection of kunais. Now that provided for some real fun.

"Well that bandage I put on it was special. You better give 'em a name now." She crossed her arms in a self affirmative position.

"Ok...how about..." Gaara looked confused again.

"Look, I'll help you out. How about Miki?"

Gaara looked at her curiously. "Why happy? Does healing my bear make you happy?"

"Has anyone told you that you ask the weirdest questions?"

"No, but they do call me a monster. Am I a monster?"

Kaida couldn't think of a retort. She knew that everyone in the village thought he was a monster. It seemed to her that he was a confused boy who didn't know his place in the world. Well, neither did she.

She hugged Gaara fiercely. "Your loneliness is the monster, not you. I'm lonely too. Want to get rid of our monsters together?"

Gaara's arms which had been hanging uselessly by his side, grasped her to him.

"Want to be friends?" She squeaked out. He was stronger than he let on.

"That means I won't be a monster from now on?" He asked.

"Yep. You'll be...*wheeze*...an awesome carrot...*cough*...top."

He released her, and looked vividly at her with aquamarine eyes. "I've always wanted a friend."


	3. Chapter 3: Pain

**So, I haven't been very talkative about this story. I should probably correct myself. This will be spanning through most of Gaara's appearances in both ****_Naruto_****, and ****_Naruto Shippuden_****. I want this to of course be as accurate as possible, but considering I'm still watching the anime, that might not always be the case. **

**I would love you guys to help me in any way that you can. Reviewing is awesome, but just reading my story makes me quite happy. Love you guys! ^_^ **

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They often would play at the Kazekage's house. It was quiet there and no one even approached the roof. It was entirely Gaara's territory, and Kaida liked it that way.

Gaara had become more curious lately. He would often ask questions that Kaida attributed to his weird 'carrot-top' ways. The one time he asked her what a hairbrush was, for example, she forced him to sit in a chair while she tore through every tangle and knot on his head. After tugging on a rather difficult one, he made a meeping sound.

Kaida turned around to face him. "What is it now? You know, the more hair that gets ripped out, the thicker it'll grow back." For the hundredth time that day, he gave her a confused puppy look. "Is that what pain feels like?"

Exasperated, she tossed the hairbrush towards his bed. "You're hopeless."

"I didn't know. I never feel pain. What's it like to feel it so bad that you bleed?"

He was also a tad morbid. "Well pain isn't pleasant. Hey! I know! If you sit still for a really long time, you go numb. Being numb is painful since it feels like a bunch of needles are piercing your skin."

Thus, they both sat on the floor, staring at nothing in particular outside, while trying to not move a muscle. Kaida was the first to break. "Argh! I can't anymore! This is so boring."

She jumped out of the window in Gaara's bedroom only to land in from of Yashamaru. Gaara's uncle.

She donned her best smile. Kaida had met Gaara's siblings, but it really shouldn't be called a meeting. They were running in the hallway and came to a stop once they saw Gaara. The girl and the boy then looked at each other, and ran away, but not before shooting Kaida what seemed to be a sympathetic look. When she had asked Gaara, he shook his head, and gripped his teddy bear tighter. Kaida's heart panged.

No, Gaara's uncle was different. Gaara seemed to really like him. Yashamaru was also very nice, and from what she could tell, a highly respected shinobi.

"Kaida, I need to speak to you alone for just a minute."

The way he asked made Kaida confused. Alone? He's never needed to speak to her before.

"Ok. Have I done something bad though?"

Yashamaru looked amused. "No not yet anyway."

Kaida retorted, "You've been speaking to my father, haven't you?"

Yashamaru laughed. "I can't just let my nephew have a random stranger enter into all our lives. Then again, the Tatsumaru legacy proceeds you."

Kaida narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your clan is well known for being rather hotheaded. Gaara is too emotionally unstable for that to be—"

"Stop right there! I realize that Gaara is a 'bit' sheltered, but maybe giving him a chance to actually know someone would be good for him."

Yashamaru looked tired. "Kaida, I don't think you underst—"

"I think I understand perfectly. He's not normal right? So what? He's my friend, and no one messes with my friends, not even his stupid uncle!"

Kaida ran back inside the house only to find Gaara still sitting in the same position as he had been previously. His eyes were closed, and he almost looked asleep. Heh, but he's an insomniac.

She gently touched Gaara's shoulder. His eyes opened, and he slowly took in the view from the window. The sun was setting in the distance, and a breeze lifted both of their shawls.

"Hey Kaida, it's getting late. You should probably head home. I'm going to go to the girls house and apologize for a few weeks ago. Yashamaru said if I give her medicine, I'd make things better."

Kaida stayed quiet for a few moments more. "Don't listen to him Gaara." She finally said. "He doesn't understand you."

Gaara looked more confused than ever. "He's my uncle, and he knows everything."

Kaida glanced down. Nothing was going to get through his shield of sand and stubbornness. "Fine. I can go with you though."

"No. I go alone." With that, not another word was spoken between the two as Kaida left. For the first time, she felt as though something was out of her grasp, and beyond her control. It was an unsettling feeling for her six year old mind to comprehend.

Once she got back home, Kaida was ambushed by her older twin sisters. They wanted to know how her 'date' went. Kaida didn't really get it. Rather annoyed she threw them the magazines they had been waiting for. "Found them in the mail. Don't slobber too much." They ran off to their room in such a state, she'd be surprised if they came out for dinner tonight. Good riddance.

Walking into her room, she reached for the light switch. Instead of the light filling her room, a resonating bang pounded against her skull. The last thing she saw was the floor rushing to meet her.

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Gaara stood in the middle of the street in shock. Kaida was right, she should have gone with him. The girl slammed the door in his face. All he wanted was to give her his medicine. Now he had a pain in his heart, and Yashamaru said there was no medicine for that except...

He had to find Kaida.

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"Brother."

"Oh, so cold with me. Though I do suppose it because I knocked you out cold eh?"

"Why?"

Kaida was tied in a corner of her room. Her oldest brother Takao was standing over her with his arms crossed. She hardly ever spoke to her brother considering he was nearly twenty years older than her. Why now knock her out, and tie her up?

Takao had always been aloof when it concerned Kaida. Supposedly, there had been a time when their mother tried to get Takao to hold Kaida as a baby, but he ran away from her. Something about him training.

That was another thing too. Takao constantly trained. He was a jōnin by the age of 17, and the family rarely saw him anymore between his training, and the team he had taken on to lead.

"I can't let you see that sand kid, that's why." Takao looked rather pleased with himself. So her brother had an ego complex? Little did she know.

"I was going to go to sleep actually, not see Gaara. So can you please untie me now?" Kaida was confused. No way in Kami's great world was she staying tied up though.

"No way. Simply, I don't trust you little sis. Plus, you don't know a thing about that monster." Yes, Takao was having an absolute blast. Kaida flinched, disgusted at her own brother.

"I hate you."

"Ooh my you have a temper. I think I'll just let you diffuse."

With that, Takao closed the door with an audible click. It was locked.

Kaida was quick to scoot to the edge of the bed, and grab one of the kunai's that was hidden under her bed. This one was her favorite she decided. The handle was chipped off from her sisters throwing it into a wall, and then jerking it out. It was now all too easy to slip between the knots in the ropes.

She managed to get the ropes and gag off before throwing herself against the door. There was not even a bit of give. Takao had stacked something on the other side of the door for sure.

She stood there trying to think of anything, even a jutsu that could unlock doors. Nothing came to mind, plus she never really used jutsus. 'Some shinobi I am.' she thought.

It was then that she heard the voices from the other side of the door. They seemed to be growing louder, at least her brothers.

"So kid, you show up here expecting what?" That was Takao.

"Can she come help me?"

No. Gaara shouldn't be talking to her fool of a brother. Why was he even here?

"Get lost freak, she hates you. She came home in tears, crying about how she never wanted to see you again."

No!

Kaida pushed against the door with all the muscles that her small body could muster. Something clicked in her panic. Putting her hands together she drew on her chakra.

The door burst open with a blast of light, and the tumbling of a cabinet that had been pushed in front of it. Kaida was thrown back, but pushed aside all fatigue. She had to get to Gaara!

Taking a running leap she vaulted to the first floor. Her brother was still standing there, but sand now hung in the air thick in it's consistency. It hurt to even breath, but she reached her brother.

She stabbed him in the foot with all the ferocity of a Tatsumaru. With all the ferocity of a dragon. Broken kunais were still effective.

Screaming, he fell to the ground. Kaida wasted no time and dashed out the door into the night.

Strangely, sand coated the air thick, even in the cool of the night. Oh Gaara.

She ran to the Kazekage's house since it was the only place that she could think of. It was taking her too long though, she was so tired. The night sucked the very fight from her it seemed.

Within the hour she saw the round roof of the Kazekage's office and house. It was getting harder to keep her eyes open however. Finally, her legs gave out as she collapsed on the hard and rocky ground.

She could see him now. He was there looking more broken than ever. As a matter of fact, he was broken. Was that blood running down his face? Gaara had a wound on his forehead? How?

Kaida rose unsteadily to her feet. It was a process using the walls of various buildings to eventually get over to Gaara, but she clung to them like a lifeline. Hobbling, she looked up.

Gaara had spotted her. His eyes...they looked...

"You lied. You all lied."

Kaida had to heal him, she knew that much. How to get up there though?

"Maybe you all deserve to die. You deserve to die."

Kaida took a flying leap and landed with solid footing. Victory! However, she came to realize Gaara's own hellish state. His uncle's uniform laid in tatters, soaked in blood. Looking at some of the bits of paper that were scattered she recognized explosive tags.

"Don't worry about healing him, I already killed him."

Kaida whipped around. "What about you? Don't you need healing?"

"I only need to kill you." Gaara chose now to attack.

Sand surrounded Kaida with such speed, she realized she would never be able to outrun it. Closing her eyes she accepted her fate.

The moons light shone upon Gaara as he crushed her. It felt so right to him then, to kill everything that moved or felt. There was no other thought except to have her blood soak into his sand.

If only he had realized it wasn't she that he crushed. She was gone. His sand fell heavy against the ground. He screamed into the night once more.

* * *

Kaida didn't know where she was, or how she had gotten there. It was dark, and she felt like a heavily bruised bag of meat.

She was facing the ceiling she noticed. She had to be in some sort of building. It was still night time she supposed, the windows were dark.

Standing up, she had a rush of vertigo. The floor spun wildly, and every movement of her eyes caused a wave of nausea to attack her.

Slowly, her senses came back to her, as well as a sign of familiarity. There was the kanji for wind. They were kept in frames all around the Kazekage's office. It was rare that she even saw the double doors, let alone go inside.

Now she was standing in the office, alone, and probably locked in too. Great.

Submitting to defeat, she fell to the floor once more. She was ready to give up. After today, her emotions would need serious reevaluation, but sleep sounded lovely. Yes, blissful, dreamless, sleep.

If only.

The doors opened with a bang. The Fourth Kazekage's outline walked toward Kaida, looking down on her with contempt.

"You've met my son, haven't you?"

Kaida looked up at him. What have him the right to question her? What gave him the right to even...

It all fit. It was his father. His father was the one who wanted this to happen, the reason why Yashamaru, an elite, questioned her before going to his death, the reason her jōnin brother tried to stop her. They had orders.

And they came from the Kazekage, Gaara's father.

There was no strength left in Kaida, but as her anger grew, she rose to her feet again.

"I will kill you. Its a promise that I make with my own clans blood."

She bit down on her pinkie, and broke skin. Blood trickled from the wound, but the deed was done. The pact was sealed, and carried heavy in her heart.

On this day, she didn't regret getting her family kicked out of Sunakagure.

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**Teehee I love cliff hangers. I also still don't own Naruto. =^_^=**


	4. Chapter 4: Plots: Part 2

**Woot! I'm back after finishing my college trig class! I should have more free time lest I take to gaming, so if you want updates sooner than soon, spam me or something. I'm cool with that. Just no cray cray shiz, and we're bro's. Also, thanks to Kazekage of Suna for being awesome and reviewing. Go check out her stories! They are hysterical! Onwards...**

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It was a dark night that four figures happened upon Konoha. Cloaked in dark robes, they stopped at the gates in order to receive the pass into the city. The pass to participate in the chūnin exams.

The hotel they were staying at didn't really appeal to Amida. He was tired, and the Land of Fire lived up to its reputation. Sweat dripped from every pore on his body.

"Why are we even doing this again? This is one of the most ridiculous missions we've been on yet." Amida whined.

"Shut your mouth." The harsh reply came from the most intimidating of the three. Sitting in the corner, Kaida kept her mask and heavy robes on. "You know nothing of heat. This mission is worth more than your life. Now keep to the script."

Amida rolled his eyes and turned to the smallest of the shinobi. "Tuki doesn't like being here. As a matter of fact you're thinking of running away again, right?"

Tuki was in blunt words, a coward. If faced with difficulty, she panicked and ran. The only good thing that came of it was that she was quick on her feet.

"I...I won't run. Don't worry about me, worry about yourselves. This...isn't a game. I don't like t-this...", Tuki trailed off.

Kaida sighed. The night had always bothered her, and now it made the itching frustration in her head grow. She slid the door to the room quietly shut, not pausing to look behind her at her colleagues shocked faces.

It was better to take to the forests. It was rare to see trees in the Land of Earth especially as far north as she lived. Eventually the rocky terrain became covered with snow, and the difference between day and night meant nothing.

It was important to learn how to fight in the forest because that would be what the second trial would consist of. At least, that's what Sensei told them.

The thing about trees, she noticed, was that they were easier to break than rocks. Small twigs and leaves fell in her wake, leaving silence to be desired. She would have to care just a tad more in order to not leave a trace behind.

In some time, she saw the approach of a clearing. Slowing her steps, she paused to take in her surroundings. It was not wise to be seen, cloaked, or not.

The first thing Kaida noticed was a small, blonde boy. He had been training for awhile it seemed, he was exhausted, and various weapons surrounded his pliant form. It would be too easy to kill him now, so she slid back into the shadows. It was better to wait for the chūnin exams in order to finish him off. Better to not draw attention at the murder of the boy.

Continuing deeper into the forest she saw teams of other countries practicing with fervor. Some even looked decent. However, there was no others from the Land of Earth, let alone Iwagakure. Good, no one shall know of their deception. There would be no other variables.

Finishing her rounds quietly, she went back to the hotel in order to get some much deserved rest. Tomorrow would bring dealing with other people, and involuntary twitches of the face. Joy.

* * *

Gaara liked to distance himself at night. At night he could lower the frail mask of humanity that he wore during the day, and blend into the darkness.

He hated a lot of things, but listening to the breathing of people sleeping, people who were not like him, was nearly too crushing to bear. Shukaku would laugh gleefully, until he had to escape before he exposed himself. He had to lay low here. He had to force himself not to kill. It was like going off an addiction.

And like all addicts going off an addiction, his senses were heightened, and his heart pounded with blood. Edgy, he stayed in the shadows, focused on getting a lowdown on the competition. Especially that Sasuke Uchiha, now that would be a mildly interesting opponent.

The trouble was the fumbling idiot he couldn't hear above. Someone was crashing through the forest without a care in the world, and Gaara was of the mind to put them out of their misery before someone else did it for him. Nevertheless, he followed them. 'This fool won't be missed too much', he thought.

That's about when the noises subsided, until silence was around him once again. It was strange, almost as if they were moving too fast for him. Either that, or they sensed his presence.

Keeping himself on guard he crouched low on a branch. He was ready to crush them with the sand that rose in his defense, but first he would wait and see who could possibly think they could thwart Gaara of the Sand.

It was daybreak before he admitted defeat. Using his sand to transport him to the hotel room he shared with his siblings, he woke them up in an unusually grotesque manner.

It was a rare thing indeed to see Gaara livid. Temari and Kankurō looked even more fearful on exam day.

* * *

It was truly interesting to see people squirm. Specifically, Kaida loved to watch these Konoha rookies squirm.

They had obviously been tripping, if they thought they were in the slightest intimidating. Every space was filled with ninjas from various countries. They were dressed to the nine, masks, bandages, and cloaks all concealed deadly intent. The energy was thrumming through Kaida, and she could hardly wait to take the whole room down.

Unfortunately, this was the written part of the exams. There couldn't be anything more boring, or truly dreadful than deciphering codes, and using advanced trigonometry to solve where a shuriken would go. Kaida knew where the shuriken would go if this test lasted any longer. Straight into the proctors scarred face.

After staring at the pages for five blank minutes, she finally looked up only to feel a light brush on the back of her neck. Dang it, as cool as the robes looked, they were itchy and hot. Even Kaida had to admit, it was too much trouble. It was important however, to intimidate the enemy, so Kaida managed to focus on something else. Specifically, the way grains of sand hung in the air around the room.

Worry squeezed Kaida's soul. He couldn't be here, he was too young. A voice, perhaps her long lost conscious reminded her that she too was only twelve. It didn't matter though, she was prepared to meet anyone in battle if it came to it. If she had to...she'd let him roast on a pit with s'mores. Oh Kami, s'mores...

The fire! The light! Kaida jerked back to the waking world with minutes left. She'd have to make this work. Looking up into the ceiling lights that lit the room, she could see the reflection of Tuki and Amida. They were in separate seats, with Kaida being the furthest back in the room. Perfect.

Gathering chakra, and performing the proper hand signs, she moved the reflection to point towards that pink haired leaf girls test. The girl had been literally salivating when handed the test, so Kaida took her chances.

Releasing more chakra, Kaida magnified the reflection on the light bulb. It was only too easy now to copy the answers from the literal screen she had created.

Now to get them to Amida and Tuki. Glancing about the room Kaida could spot at least three special eye technique users alone. Funsies. There was even one using a mirror, another just being a copy cat, as well as a weird shadow kid. At least they were trying. Now.

Kaida really didn't want to give away her abilities. Therefore, she had to be discreet, and docile. Kaida wasn't docile.

Concentrating a fair amount of her chakra, she was able to shine a faint light onto both of her teammates papers, outlining the correct answers. They would pass even if she had to drag along Tiny and Rockhead. Yes, this mission could not be failed.

Satisfied with herself, she took the down time to look around the room. Many of the competitors were still sitting frustrated, while others were obviously cheating. Poor saps. They were kicked out along with the rest of their team.

There were some sound ninja here and there. It was almost comforting to see them in strong force. However, they all wore the mask of intimidation well. It wouldn't surprise Kaida if they turned on her. Ninja were ninja.

The sand Kaida had seen earlier had disappeared. Apparently whoever had been using it, was done as well. Kaida was not stupid enough to look behind her, no that would've been asking for those creepy chūnin to drag her and her team out of this decrepit village. No, reflections would have to do.

Focusing her chakra again, Kaida had just enough conscious not to scream when something gritty grated past her hand. Looking down below the desk, she was surprised to see an eyeball looking back at her. It was formed of sand, and clearly could belong to only one person.

"Gaara."

Kaida hadn't even intended for the name to slip out, except now everyone in the room stared at her. Oh sweet and holy Kami...

"Ninja 145..."

Kaida panicked. Her outer self remained as calm and expressionless as ever though. She wouldn't show this proctor anything.

"Ninja 57!"

A chūnin screamed out in a frenzy. One of the sound ninja had decided to spray the room with kunai as though that would get them anywhere. Wait...

"You and your team! Out this instant!"

Yes, they were covering for her. How nice. Apparently they had gotten the message Iwakagure had sent out about her lineage. No risking Kaida at all costs.

As the sound ninja walked out, the taller of the three turned to look at her. "We expect greatness from you. Idiot." It was said in the lowest of whispers.

Kaida's blood boiled. They knew as well as anyone in the know did what she was capable of. Maybe she would take care of them later. After all, it wasn't like they were her allies as much as Iwakagure's allies. She could rip them limb by limb and watch the blood flow...

"Time. Now we are ready for the tenth question."

Kaida's train of thought was derailed as the rules were explained. It was a do or die question, once it was answered there was no going back. How perfect. It was time to be serious now. Of course, there was that silly blonde kid from the forest in the front, and...Gaara...behind her. Her concentration was spot on though, and fear wasn't in her vocabulary. She stayed.

That was all it took. Kaida did have to appreciate the trick. When her teammates and her walked out of the classroom, the only thought in her mind was the impending annihilation of the Leaf.

* * *

**FOREST OF DEATH AND DOOM AND SNAKE BALLS UP NEXT...**


End file.
